Researcher: 'Fifty Shades' Less Naughty, More Natural

Patricia Hawley's research shows submission fantasies are common in both women and
men.

Photo Courtesy: eljamesauthor.com

Where people spend their money is indicative of what they like.

The runaway popularity of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series, with its BDSM elements,
and the romance genre in particular, has been taken to indicate that millions of American
women have abnormal and rather uncomfortable fantasies about sex. Academics, journalists
and comedy writers have all asked, in one form or another, “What is wrong with women?”

Nothing, a Texas Tech University researcher says. The popularity of this genre simply
acknowledges that women fantasize about sex, and in their fantasies they like to feel
sexy and desired. There's nothing pathological about that, said Patricia Hawley, a professor of educational psychology at Texas Tech.

She doesn't see the fascination with the books as a sign that women secretly want
to be beaten with riding crops or feel so guilty for fantasizing about sex that they
have to picture themselves almost – but not quite – having it taken from them by an
overwhelmingly powerful man.

Rather, Hawley, who researches power relationships, sees the book as a standard romance
novel that highlights a common theme in fantasy: the desire to be passionately pursued
by a strong, powerful lover who knows what he – or she – wants and will do whatever
it takes to get it.

“The fantasy is that first of all you're super, super sexy, because how else can you
account for such a powerful alpha male coming after you?” she said. “That's a great
fantasy for women, and you know what? It's also a great fantasy for men.”

Ordinary Woman, Extraordinary Man

One purpose of sexual fantasy is to enhance self-esteem, Hawley said. Being an ordinary
woman who is not only noticed but chased by this almost unnaturally attractive, wealthy
man will make a woman feel good about herself. Romance novelists portray that type
of relationship.

E.L. James, author

Photo Courtesy: eljamesauthor.com

“She's an everyday girl, and she attracted the attention of the alpha alpha male.
The average girl is appealing in 'Fifty Shades,' because if it can happen to her,
it's not such a ludicrous fantasy for me to think about, an average woman of average
age and average appearance.”

Author E.L. James didn't leave this point to chance, Hawley said. She made quite clear the reader knew
just how average her protagonist, Anastasia, was by putting her next to beautiful
women who had much more to offer. Yet the hero doesn't care.

“What was interesting about 'Fifty Shades' is the author really drove this point home,”
she said. “She surrounded Christian Grey with really sexy women that he had no interest
in. It was Anastasia. 'What you have you done to me, you're in control.' He portrays
it as if the power is all hers – 'you've made me do this, because you are just that
hot and seductive and desirable.' That's the fantasy – be hot, seductive and desirable.”

In addition to enhancing self-esteem, this idea gives the perceived submissive partner
a significant amount of power, belying the current feminist writings that focus on
the belief that women always see sex as an act of subjugation.

Power Research

Hawley studied “Mine to Take” by romance novelist Dara Joy, published in 1998 and chock full of sex, passion, intrigue and barely clad people
on the cover.

She and a group of undergraduate students then created ways to measure what about
such stories people enjoyed. They created a vignette similar to scenes found in “Mine
to Take:” a young woman goes into a room with a strapping man. He grabs her, holds
her in a vice-like grip and growls at her to tell him to stop. She finds she doesn't
have the voice to tell him to stop, even if she wanted to tell him to stop. Maybe
she should, but she doesn't.

Both male and female college students read this vignette, Hawley said, and answered
questions about it. Overall, they enjoyed the scene. She wanted to find out what specifically
they enjoyed, so she started removing parts of it. First, she removed the sex. People
liked it less.

Patricia Hawley

Then she removed the perception of force, taking out “vice-like grip” and other seemingly
aggressive words and phrases. The preference stayed the same, indicating readers weren't
turned on by the use of force per se.

“If you take the force out and people still like it, the force isn't causing the preference,”
she said. “You take the sex out and people don't like it, the sex is making a difference.”

Instead, it appears the appeal lies in the fact that the vignette portrays a very
passionate exchange. Masochism had little to do with it.

She also asked the students what elements were present in their sexual fantasies.
Both men and women fantasized about being submissive. She found that men actually
fantasize about being submissive more than women, which adds to her theory that a
heavily pursued lover feels greater self-esteem because of the pursuit, even though,
and likely because, they are not the dominant one.

“One of our human motivations is to enhance our power, and to be passionately pursued
actually gives the power to the fantasist,” Hawley said. “You're so, so sexy that
that person pursues you this way.”

Much has been made about the BDSM elements and how these novels are new and different,
but Hawley said those elements contribute only the novelty in the story, much like
adding vampires to a romance. The story remains basically the same, she said; only
the quirks change.

“You get a formula layered with novelty,” she said. “From my view, it was a formulaic
romance novel. That can account for a good deal of its success.”

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The College of Education at Texas Tech University offers a full range of programs, including 9 doctoral degrees,
10 master's degrees, two bachelor's degrees and numerous specializations which can
lead to careers in public or private education as teachers, professors, administrators,
counselors and diagnosticians.

Programs in the college are housed in three departments.

The Department of Curriculum & Instruction offers advanced degrees that prepare leaders, researchers, and professors with the
knowledge, skills, and practical application experience needed to analyze, construct,
and evaluate curricula in ways that create optimal learning conditions for all learners.
Language and literacy, bilingual education and STEM education are just a few of the
specializations offered by C&I.

The Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership consists of a diverse group of academic programs that equip students with a comprehensive
knowledge of learning, motivation, development, and educational foundations. The disciplines
of counseling and school psychology are housed within the EP&L department as are programs
to prepare future college administrators, primary and secondary school and district
leaders, as well as practical and academic educational psychologists.

The Department of Teacher Education focuses solely on teacher preparation, ensuring that teacher candidates are ready
for the classroom on day one. The Teacher Education Department is home to TechTeach,
an innovative teacher preparation program that puts teacher candidates into public
school classrooms for a full year and requires that students pass teacher certification
tests prior to entering the classroom. Various paths to teaching careers, including
fast-track distance programs statewide and alternative certification options, are
also housed in this department.